{"id":388,"date":"2018-10-24T23:10:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T03:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cosmictigre.com\/?p=388"},"modified":"2020-02-08T20:57:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T20:57:13","slug":"lentil-red-bean-burgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/lentil-red-bean-burgers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lentil & Red Bean ‘Meat’ Balls"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This is a personal take on the Rastafarian <\/span>ital<\/em><\/span> lentil balls I grew up eating in the Virgin Islands. From my experience,\u00a0<\/span>ital<\/em><\/span>\u00a0as a way of living that encourages practitioners to have full respect for nature and their bodies. \u00a0\u00a0The name\u00a0<\/span>i<\/em><\/span>tal\u00a0<\/em><\/span>is a play on the English word vital, only with the v removed; this reminds all who eat it that this food is vital to their well-being. The goal of <\/span>ital <\/em><\/span>is to help enhance\u00a0<\/span>livity<\/em><\/span>, or the life energy existing in us. The stronger your livity, the longer, happier, and healthier your life will be. <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In cooking, this translates into eating food that comes from the most positive, high-vibrational sources possible.\u00a0 This includes food that comes from the earth, but also food that is produced ethically, and prepared freshly. I am no Rasta (<\/span>by choice<\/em><\/span>), but I am the daughter of one\u00a0so this stuff runs through my veins. <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That being said, I have made some variation of this 2 times in the past week for my family<\/span>. Each time they’ve been gone within maybe 2 days max! Easy,\u00a0filling, and delicious \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 lb cooked green lentils<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1\/2 lb cooked red kidney beans<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 1\/2 cups flour (I used oat flour- at home instructions below)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 cup spinach (fresh or frozen- your choice)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 cup (about 1\/2 of a large) carrot<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 large yellow onion<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 bell pepper (I used red)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

6 cloves garlic<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2 tablespoon<\/span>s soy sauce or <\/span>liquid\/coconut aminos<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2 tablespoons tomato paste<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 teaspoon baking powder<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 teaspoon turmeric<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1<\/span> teaspoon paprika<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

4-5 sprigs thyme<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3 large sage leave<\/span>s<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3 stalks parsley<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

salt and pepper to taste<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Process<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Preheat oven to 340 (not 350!) degrees.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  2. On a large cutting board, start cutting your veggies.\u00a0 To get the most flavor out of them, we will send them off to roast. Roughly chop the carrot, onion, and bell pepper all into large pieces.\u00a0 Toss in a bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 sprig<\/span> thyme.\u00a0 Tightly wrap the garlic in aluminum foil.\u00a0 Place the veggies and garlic bundle on a baking sheet. Bake for about 30<\/span>-35 minutes, or until the veggies have become golden brown around the edges.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  3. In a high-powered blender or food processor, blend 2 cups raw oats until it breaks down to small pieces and resembles a flour. Depending on your blender, this may take anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Once your flour is done, set aside in a bowl.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  4. \u00a0In a large mixing bowl, add both of the bean bases.\u00a0 Whether you’re using freshly cooked or canned,\u00a0 drain the beans of their liquid. Reserve about 1 cup in case the mixture needs moisture later. I like to go through, mashing the majority of them but leaving<\/span> some whole for structural integrity.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  5. At this point, I like to start getting the dry ingredients together.\u00a0 Sift through your oat flour, making sure no large oat flakes get into the bean mixture (unless that’s your plan).\u00a0 Add the baking powder and a pinch of salt, making sure to whisk out any lumps.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  6. The <\/span>roasted veggies should be ready by now.\u00a0 I take them out of the oven and let them rest for a moment.\u00a0 Once semi-cooled (about 5\/10 minutes), I place them into the blender with<\/span> the liquid aminos, tomato paste, and remaining <\/span>herbs:seasonings except for sage. Combine until you have a smooth, fragrant red-orange paste. Pour into a small bowl for easy use.\u00a0Save half of this to make a flavorful tomato sauce.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  7. Return to your bean mixture.\u00a0 First, I add about half of the onion-pepper-garlic-tomato paste and stir until well combined. Then add about salt and pepper here, taste for flavor and adjust where needed.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  8. When the taste is to your liking, add the oat flour-salt-baking powder mixture slowly. Mix well to combine. This recipe advises you use 2 cups of this, but the mixture may be a bit drier or wetter. The mixture should be wet but hold together enough to form a ball or patty shape. Use your discretion.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  9. On a chopping board, finely chop the spinach<\/span> and s<\/span>age.\u00a0 I like to add these in last because they otherwise get bruised and melt away in the mix.\u00a0 Once again, mix well and cover your mixture.<\/span>*refrigerate for 20 minutes to an hour*<\/span>I added this intermission because I think chilling the mix helps things firm up.\u00a0 Plus, if you’re in a tropical climate like me, the heat and humidity are probably making this melt out of your fingers from the jump.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  10. Form your shapes! For this time around, I split my mixture in half and got 18 ‘balls’ and 6 thick ‘burgers’. But the choice is all yours.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    *COOKING AND STORING*<\/span>: I have experimented with various ways of cooking this recipe.\u00a0 The most popular method would be to pan-fry these, which works but also requires you to stand at the stove, constantly checking on them, and using a good bit of oil.\u00a0 My favorite way to eat these is by throwing them on a greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    It gets cooked through and is golden brown every time.\u00a0<\/span>These can last for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.\u00a0 In the freezer, the shelf life is about 2-3 months.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"\"\r\n
    Simmering away in marinara.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \"IMG_5850\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \r\n
    Topped with homemade BBQ sauce, red onion, kale\/red pepper slaw, kimchi, and mashed avocado. The burger is deeply savory and pairs beautifully with the sweet, spicy, tangy, creamy topping flavors.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    I hope you give this recipe a taste and tell me what you think!<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

     <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This is one of my favorite go-to recipes for mock meatballs, burgers, and loaves! Easy, filling, and delicious \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3541,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions\/3541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejachaniah.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}